//------------------------------//
// ReCollection: Part 1 
// Story: Midnight Reverie 
// by nukeiffum 
//------------------------------//

	It was a strange feeling, awareness during one's birth.
The very instant Twilight’s consciousness settled down into the past life of her ancestor, she was greeted by the sensation of coming out of her mother’s womb. Her eyes were unable to adjust to the harsh light of the outside world at first, but gradually they became accustomed to her surroundings. However, Twilight Sparkle could do little to manipulate the newborn foal’s body; it was instinctively flailing around and crying the way newborns often did. Her ears could hear nothing but the her shrill wails, and her eyes have not yet developed enough perceive anything more than the blurriness of the world around her. Only her senses of touch and smell seemed to function with any proper acuteness.
As soon as Twilight deduced these details about herself, her proxy's incessant crying suddenly halted. She could feel herself being transferred into the hooves of who she presumed to be her mother, judging by her warm scent and loving touch.
“Congratulations!” said the nurse pony after handing the foal to her mother. “It’s a filly!”
Twilight looked up to the mare who was holding her, just barely able to discern a smile upon her face. It was an incredibly warm and loving smile, its presence having a calming effect on the newborn foal. She reached up and tried to grab her mother’s smile, the way a newborn would, her mother giggling feebly at her attempts.
Wait. Something was wrong. The newborn wouldn’t have noticed at all, but Twilight immediately sensed the trouble. There was something about the way this mare was holding her child, something about how her hooves trembled while she was holding her, the weariness hidden behind her smile. It hit Twilight almost immediately. She instinctively tried to cast a spell that might avert the upcoming tragedy, mustering every bit of the magic within her. But there was no source of power to draw from. As a foal who had only been living for a scarce few minutes, whatever magic Twilight tried to harness did not exist. Besides, even if she could cast a spell, she was nothing more than an observer in this memory. It was impossible to change what had already occurred.
“Oh, Goddess no!” The nurse pony cried. “She’s hemorrhaging!!”
Chaos erupted at the nurse's exclamation as the medical staff fought to save her mother. From what little Twilight could tell, medical magic hadn’t evolved enough to make the necessary spells available to save the foal’s mother from her fate. The mare knew she was dying and that her death was unavoidable, yet for some reason, she was surrounded by an atmosphere of calm. She continued to smile warmly towards her offspring.
“You’re a beautiful unicorn.” The mare croaked. “This wonderful shade of indigo… I’m sure you’ll grow to be as lovely as your mother one day.”
“Don’t speak, save your energy!” One of the nurse ponies called out. “I swear, we will save you! We will!!”
The mare only smiled weakly in response to her caretakers. She turned back to her child, who was innocently waving her hooves in an attempt to touch her mother's face. “This is fine, isn't it?" she said wistfully. "My only regret is that I won’t be able to see my little one grow up.”
“There must be something we can do—”
The nurse pony's voice stopped at the look in the mare's eye. There was no fear, no agony present on the face of the dying mother, only a small hint of sadness hidden in her beaming smile.
“She’s a beautiful child, isn’t she?” The mare muttered, her strength beginning to give out. “Such a wonderful shade of indigo… almost like the night… and such sparkling eyes…” She strained to kiss her child on her forehead. “Midnight Star. I think that’s a beautiful name for such a beautiful child. A shining star to light up the dark midnight…”
The mare was interrupted by a harsh fit of coughing. The nurse ponies prepared to leap to her aid, but the head nurse lifted up a hoof. “There’s nothing more we can do.” She said tiredly. “Just… let her go out the way she wants…” The other nurses hesitated, giving one last long look at the dying mare.
“Midnight Star…” The mare muttered to herself. “May the Goddess bestow a blessed life upon you… my dear, dear child…”
The light in the mare’s eyes dampened, signifying the departure of her soul from this world. The nurse ponies solemnly separated Midnight from her mother, causing the foal to begin crying. The nurses gave a questioning look to the head pony.
“Just… take her to the nursery.” The head nurse said. “We’ll figure out what to do with her later…”
The other nurses nodded and took Midnight away from the delivery room. The last sight the newborn saw before leaving was a blanket being folded over her mother, whose eyes would never see the light of day again. The nurse pony laid Midnight Star down into a small crib alongside all the other foals that were born that day. Midnight continued to cry innocently, pining for the warm touch of her mother.
Twilight's heart cried for the newborn foal. She wanted to comfort her, to relay her sentiments to the main occupant of this body. Twilight didn't know what to expect upon diving into her ancestor's memories, but it certainly wasn't this. To be so young and have your mother taken away, such an event was painful for anypony. Twilight sighed. Nopony said history had to be pretty. Until breakthroughs in medical magic were developed for childbirth, dying in the midst of labor was common. The nurse ponies of this era tried everything they could to save Midnight's mother, but everything sadly wasn't enough.
Twilight's thoughts turned to her friends. What if they had to experience something like this too? She didn't mean for them to go through anything sad, it was meant to be a wholly educational experience! Maybe some degree of darkness was to be found in the past, but surely it was nothing worse than what she and her friends have already gone through! Twilight tried to reach out to their consciousnesses, but her probing mind felt nothing. It appeared that she couldn't communicate with her friends while attached to Midnight's body.
“Yes. Yes, she’s right here.” A nurse pony led two extravagantly dressed earth ponies, one a stallion and the other a mare, into the room, interrupting Twilight’s train of thought. Twilight judged from their attire that they were of the highest class, possibly even royalty.
The stallion examined Midnight’s physique. “Hmm, a healthy baby unicorn? And this was Vega’s child, correct?” The nurse pony tilted her head in confirmation. “It's such a tragedy that she passed away, right Ambrosia?”
The mare nodded in agreement. “Such a tragedy indeed, Themis. She was a valuable friend, if only she listened to your advice.”
“Yeah…” Themis bowed his head solemnly. “She should've aborted that child when she had the chance."
Twilight froze at Themis's words. Aborted?
“Oh?” The nurse pony tilted her head curiously. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, why did you ask her to have the child aborted?”
The stallion sighed. “Vega… she never wanted to have a child. The only reason she got pregnant was because—”
Ambrosia held up her hoof. “That’s enough, dear. We don’t want to go around spreading the story, just think of what it’d do to poor Vega’s reputation!” She turned to the nurse. “I’m terribly sorry, but the reasons why are confidential. I do so hope you understand.” Ambrosia gazed sadly at the child. “And to think, she decided to go on with the birth, even though…”
“The Quota?” The nurse inquired.
Themis and Ambrosia winced at the nurse’s words. “Yes, the Quota. Although since Vega has passed away there’s no real need to uphold it in this case.”
Quota? What’s that? Twilight willed for the other ponies to continue talking about it, but it appeared that they had said enough of the subject, frustrating Twilight.
“Anyways,” Themis cleared his throat. “Ambrosia and I will be taking this young filly under our care and protection. It’s the least we could do for our old friend.”
“Is that so? Well, just sign the papers and I can hand her off to you.” The nurse pony rummaged through some files and brought out a stack of adoption papers.
Themis clicked a pen and began filling out the form with his mouth. Before he finished signing off on the papers, he paused and turned to the nurse. “Erm… does this child have a name?”
“Oh,” The nurse pony gazed sadly at the foal. “Her name’s Midnight Star, if I recall correctly. Poor Vega spent her last words naming her, she even gave her the blessing of the Goddess.”
Ambrosia nuzzled the foal in the crib. “Using the last of her strength to name and baptize her child, that’s definitely Vega alright…”
Themis finished filling out the papers and stamped his hoofprint on it. “There, that should take care of the legalities.” The nurse nodded in confirmation. “Well, we should get going then.” The stallion moved next to Ambrosia and gazed down upon the child. Midnight swung her hooves at them, innocently trying to grab their smiles.
“Don’t worry,” Ambrosia cooed as the nurse pony attached the crib to her hindquarters. “You’ll be well taken care of.”
Themis sighed. “Hopefully the servants will raise her properly, we’ve already got our hands full with two of our own, after all.”
“Not to worry, dear.” Ambrosia reassured. “I trained them myself, I’m sure they’ll raise young Midnight to be a wonderful mare.” She smiled warmly at the oblivious foal. “And besides,
“Celestia and Luna will grow up having somepony around their age to play with! Isn’t that wonderful?”
What?
Themis and Ambrosia made their way out of the nursery. The nurse bowed deeply behind them. “It’s always a pleasure to receive His and Her Highnesses.”
What? What?
The walls around her suddenly deconstructed, leaving a blank white void in its stead. Static distortions were scattered about the void, but unlike before, they were relatively controlled and unobtrusive. Twilight Sparkle found herself floating among this void, trying to piece together what she just heard and saw.
Celestia? Luna? Are they saying that Midnight Star, Twilight’s ancestor, had an incredibly close connection to the two Princesses? If so, why didn’t Princess Celestia inform her about this connection before? Twilight gritted her teeth. There were so many things she didn’t know about the past, like who is this “Goddess?” And what was with that “Quota” thing they were talking about?
Twilight Sparkle’s thirst for knowledge compelled her to dig further for this truth. She felt as if there was a lot more than what she just experienced, especially since she only experienced her own birth. Twilight could tell there was a lot more to Midnight Star’s life. Much, much more.
Not to mention there was one huge thing that disturbed her the most about the past. It was something small, something that took a while for her to notice with her underdeveloped vision. And even when she did notice, Twilight wasn’t consciously aware of it until the moment the room deconstructed itself. The observation just nestled in the back of her mind until then, giving her an incredibly uncomfortable feeling that she couldn’t quite put her hoof on.
Nopony in the past possessed a Cutie Mark.
Her settings suddenly began reconstructing itself. Out of nowhere walls and fixtures quickly sprung up from the void, making it seem like it never even existed in the first place.
Twilight found herself in a vast library, idly skimming through a book. Except it wasn’t her hooves that flipped the pages, it was Midnight Star’s. It seemed that the jump through the void skipped through the many years of Midnight’s childhood, for she was already a young mare, fresh out of fillyhood. As soon as Twilight’s consciousness began to settle down in Midnight’s body, she could feel the gaps in her memories being filled.
Midnight lived a privileged life from what she could tell. Much like Twilight Sparkle herself, she was raised by the royal family and was brought up surrounded by books. Twilight would even go as far as to say that she and Midnight’s childhoods were pretty much the same! Although Midnight didn’t seem to have a dragon assistant like Twilight did and the subject matter of her books was completely different. Instead of the books on magic that Twilight was used to reading, Midnight was reading a book about some Goddess. The text only listed various procedures in regards to the Goddess, such as how to pay proper tribute, how to say prayers to her, how to abide by her mandates…
"I see you're studying diligently, Miss Midnight Star."
The young unicorn quickly turned around and saw an elderly unicorn wearing a long white robe. The unicorn trotted up to Midnight and shut the book she was reading, much to Twilight Sparkle's displeasure.
"Reviewing the basics?" the unicorn scoffed. "As your mentor I would hope that you utilize your free time with more advanced material."
Midnight blushed. "I was just looking up a couple things for Princess Luna!"
"That doesn't surprise me." The elderly unicorn frowned. "At any rate, you are not the Princess's encyclopedia, Princess Luna should be responsible for the material herself. Is that clear?"
Midnight's head bowed down in embarrassment. "Yes, Professor Gnosis."
"Well, now that that's cleared up," Gnosis said, "it's about time you went along to see the King and Queen. You know you've got an incredibly important appointment with them today." Gnosis paused. "You do remember your appointment with them, right?"
Midnight grinned sheepishly. "I was studying all night last night, so it might have slipped my mind."
Gnosis sighed. "I know how much I support your pursuit of knowledge, but you should also keep in mind your other obligations. Enough studying for now, make yourself presentable so I can take you to His and Her Highnesses."
Midnight grudgingly closed all the books around her and shoved them all into a neat little stack. “Please excuse me for asking, but would it be alright if you put these books away for me while I get ready, Professor?"
"If I must, just please be quick." Gnosis gave a mock bow and began organizing the books.
Midnight trotted into a back room and shut the door. Honestly, why did she have to go to all these appointments all the time? It felt like it had been forever since she was able to get in a full day of studying.
As the unicorn trotted past a mirror, Twilight got her first full look of her body. Midnight grew into a fine mare, her coat a beautiful deep indigo. The way her mane was frazzled reminded Twilight of the many nights she spent awake studying, and once it was tidied up Twilight imagined that it would look exactly like her mane. She should’ve expected that her ancestor would look so similar to herself.
Midnight knocked on one of her cabinets, and a strange mechanical device burst out of it, surprising Twilight. There were many fixtures attached to this device, and it appeared to be a self-grooming machine. Twilight Sparkle didn’t know they had this kind of technology in this era. The unicorn yawned and placed her hooves on the machine. She began to manipulate a set of simple sticks, and the fixtures took input from Midnight’s commands and brushed her hair for her. After a few moments, Midnight’s mane was all neat and tidy.
Twilight Sparkle was astounded at the level of technology Midnight possessed. It was the same type of device earth ponies and pegasi in the present used to brush their manes when nopony else was around to help them, since they couldn’t use magic like unicorns could to do it themselves, but why did Midnight have to use such a device? Couldn’t she use magic to do it herself?
Midnight burst out of the backroom before Twilight could ponder over this anymore. “Alright Professor, I'm ready."
Miraculously, the library was already tied up. Twilight couldn't help but wish that Spike was as efficient as this Professor. Gnosis nodded and briskly led Midnight outside of the library and into a magnificent hall. It reminded Twilight of the halls back in Princess Celestia’s castle, with the way the drapes hung beautifully over the pillars alongside the guards stationed at every entrance.
As Twilight took in these details, two young ponies dashed up to Midnight. At an instant, Twilight could recognize them as much younger versions of Princess Celestia and Luna.
However, they weren't alicorns anymore.
Gone were their brilliant wings and shining horns. In place of the magnificence Twilight was used to seeing was nothing but two playful mares, only slightly older than Midnight Star.
Luna was the first to reach Midnight, tackling her and giving her a hug. “Midnight!” Luna exclaimed. “You’re alive!”
“Of course I am, silly.” Midnight smiled. “A little studying never killed anypony.”
“A little?” Celestia giggled. “Why, if the amount of studying you do is a little I would hate to see what a lot would be.”
The three young mares laughed at their small exchange. Gnosis cleared his throat and interrupted their banter.
"Excuse me, princesses," Gnosis said, "I'm afraid Midnight doesn't have time to play today. She has some important business to attend to with your parents. Besides," He smirked at Luna. "If you have time to play you should certainly have time to crack open an encyclopedia."
Luna blushed and stuck her tongue out at the Professor. "Studying is boring! I'd rather play with Midnight and Celly!!"
Midnight smiled and patted Luna on her head. "Now Luna, be nice to the Professor."
Luna puffed out her cheeks in protest. "But--"
"No buts." Midnight pulled Luna into a brief hug. "Sorry Luna, I can't be any later to this appointment than I already am. Celestia?" She turned to the white-coated pony. "You understand, right?"
Celestia nodded. “I know that it isn’t wise to keep mother and father waiting. Go on, Midnight, Luna and I can play for a while without you.”
“Boo!” Luna pouted. “Big Sister Celly isn’t as fun as you, Midnight!” She ran off from the group of ponies, sticking her tongue out at them. "Boo on you!!" She ran into the courtyard, happily prancing around as a filly normally would.
“That Luna…” Celestia sighed. “She’s already a mare but she still acts like such a child…” She turned to Midnight. “Well, good luck with your business with our parents. Hopefully they won’t pile any of their silly requests on you.” Celestia pranced off into the courtyard to join her sister. “Hey, Luna! Don’t run off outside the gates!!”
"Honestly, that Luna," Gnosis muttered to himself. "I don't know how she handles her responsibilities."
Midnight Star smiled warmly after her two sisters. "Come on, Professor, don't want to keep them waiting anymore, right?"
The older pony nodded. "If you'd step right this way..."
The two ponies walked across the hall and entered the audience room, where Themis and Ambrosia were waiting. Gnosis and Midnight bowed, with the former stepping outside of the room after exchanging the standard pleasantries.
“Midnight Star, you may stand.” The sole guard in the room spoke. Midnight complied and faced her parents.
Ambrosia smiled. “Good morning, Midnight. I’ve heard you’ve been studying all night again?”
Midnight grinned sheepishly. “Well… uh… yeah, pretty much.”
The two elder ponies laughed at Midnight’s remark. “It’s good to see that Canterlot's future advisor keeps up with her studies!” Themis laughed.
Midnight smiled awkwardly. She wasn’t used to thinking about the future of this land, and she was even less used to thinking of her own role. “Y-yes…” Midnight stuttered. “So what is the reason you called for me today?”
“Oh Midnight, can’t your mother and father just call you in for a simple chat?” Themis questioned.
“Well… no.” The unicorn admitted. “Not to be disrespectful, but you never call me in unless you have a reason.”
Themis sighed. “That may be… alright then, let’s cut directly to the chase.” He and Ambrosia stood up and trotted over to Midnight. “Listen, you already know full well what your position in this family is, right?”
Midnight nodded sadly. “Yes, you took me under your hoof when I was just a foal.”
Themis continued. “And you remember where Celestia and Luna's futures lie, right?”
“As mandated by the Goddess’s prophecy,” Midnight said softly. “Celestia and Luna will one day ascend to the heavens and govern these lands.”
“So therefore, you don’t need to be reminded of your duties towards those two, right?”
“Yes father.” The unicorn bowed her head. “I am to protect them and be their advisor until the Day of Ascension.”
“And you remember the reason as to why the Day of Ascension is so important, right?”
Midnight nodded once again. “To free our lands and to allow us to discard the Quota.”
"Good."
Themis and Ambrosia gave their adopted daughter an impromptu hug. Midnight was caught off guard, but she quickly relaxed.
“You know we love you too, Midnight.” Ambrosia whispered. “Even if we devote most of our attentions to your two sisters, you still hold a special place in our hearts.”
“I know mother.” Midnight replied. “And I’m thankful for your generosity in allowing me to be a part of the royal family."
The three ponies parted from their embrace. Themis cleared his throat. “Now, for the reason why I called you here. I’m sure you’ve been hard at work studying for your future position as Princess Celestia’s and Princess Luna’s advisor, but I must ask, do you think all this book studying will give you all the tools you need to be a successful advisor?”
Midnight pondered the question for a moment. “I think it would. I learn so much about the Goddess and the world around me from my books."
“But does it give you experience, Midnight?”
Themis’s question threw Midnight off her train of thought. “Experience? Uhh… I think so? I mean, Professor Gnosis knows exactly what books I should be reading and--”
The stallion shook his head, cutting her off. “That’s what I thought. Listen, Midnight, in order for you to be truly ready for the position as their advisor, you need to have experience.”
“Experience with what?” Midnight questioned.
“Experience in socializing with the general population.” Themis explained. “You must learn how they think, how they live, how they interact. Being locked up in the library all day is good for strict information, but it definitely won’t give you the experience to work with others. Not to mention the only other ponies you talk to besides us are Celestia and Luna!”
“… what are you getting at?” The unicorn asked hesitantly.
“What your father’s trying to say, dear.” Ambrosia cut in. “Is that we’re sending you outside for a little while.”
“Wait… you’re sending me out there?!” Midnight bit her lip. She’s never been outside of the castle before, and to be suddenly sent into the outside world? Madness!
“Don’t worry, Midnight, the village we’re sending you to is relatively safe.” Ambrosia reassured. “At worst a Collection is held there, but you don’t have to worry too much about that. Records say it it happens very seldomly.”
“B-but, but!” Midnight sighed. “… fine. Where are you sending me?”
Themis smiled. “Down south of the castle lies a small village the locals call Ponyville. All we want you to do there is interact with the populace a little, learn about relationships, broaden your horizons—”
“In short, Midnight.” Ambrosia interrupted. “We want you to make some friends.”
Twilight Sparkle felt a strange feeling of déjà vu creep up on her.



“You hafta go away, sis?”
Princess Luna looked up sadly at Midnight Star as the unicorn loaded her few belongings onto the carriage. Midnight tried to avoid her sister’s gaze, for Luna’s sad expressions always broke her heart. But Luna was just too adorable to ignore, and the unicorn found herself embracing her sister before her gaze could make Midnight feel any worse than she already did.
“Yeah Luna, I’m sorry.” Midnight apologized. “Mother and father are the ones who are sending me away, and I can’t really do much to go against them.”
“They’re just being a couple of mean meanie-faces!” Luna pouted.
Celestia trotted next to Luna and pulled her apart from Midnight. “Now Luna, don’t talk about our parents that way. Don’t forget that you’re the older sister here, and you should be setting Midnight an example.”
“Only by a few more days!” Luna whined. “Midnight’s more like the older sister than me…”
“Now now, enough of that.” Celestia scolded. “Besides, it’s not like Midnight’s going to go away forever, is she?”
“No I’m not.” Midnight smiled and nuzzled Luna lovingly. “Be a good girl for me and keep up with your studies while I’m gone, okay? I’ll be sure to write often!”
Luna frowned and stuck her tongue out at Midnight. “You better!” She turned tail and ran back into the castle, shutting the door behind her.
Celestia sighed. “That girl, I’m starting to think she’ll never grow up.” She turned to Midnight. “You have everything you need? Parchment? Books? Food?”
“Don't worry, I’m fine!” Midnight said. “Our parents arranged everything; I’ll be staying in Ponyville’s library and once I arrive a pony will be there to assist me. And stop worrying so much about Luna, she should have fun while she still can.”
“Well, I can’t really object to that…” Celestia bit her lip. “After all, once our training for the Day of Ascension officially begins--”
Midnight held up her hoof. “That’s not exactly the last thing I want to talk with my sister about before I go.”
“Well I suppose you're right. But aren’t preparations for that day the reason you’re being sent to Ponyville?” Celestia questioned.
Midnight nodded. “As your and Luna’s future advisor, I have to be well versed in every bit of knowledge that’ll be useful for that Day. And unfortunately, I also have to gain the trust and support of other ponies before I’m really qualified to serve you two.”
Celestia giggled. “Oh look at you, so antsy about having to make friends. It’s really not that nerve-wracking, you shy filly.”
Midnight blushed. “H-hey! I’m not a filly anymore! A-and I’m not shy! It's just, I would rather spend my time reading than making friends is all…”
“Sure it is, my dear, dear Midnight.” Celestia teased. “After all, those books sure do get lonely whenever you’re not around.”
“Exac—wait!!”
Celestia laughed at Midnight’s slip-up. “Really, dear, I think it’s good that you get to have this opportunity. Why, I myself would like to go down to Ponyville to make some friends if it wasn’t for my position. It gets so lonely and stifling inside the castle sometimes.”
“But at least you have Luna, right?”
The castle door suddenly flung open at the mention of Luna’s name and the aforementioned pony spilled out, falling flat on the ground. “Owwies…”
Celestia chuckled. “I suppose that’s right, I’ll always have Luna. After all, we share the same future. Isn’t that right, my dear little sister?”
Luna quickly picked herself back up and glanced nervously at the two other ponies. “I-I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything!” She cried, not hearing Celestia’s question. “I-I just… umm…”
Midnight smiled and patted her sister’s head. “I’m sure, Luna.” The unicorn turned around and stepped into the carriage. “Well, I guess I have to go now. I have a schedule to keep!”
“Have a fun trip!” Celestia smiled. “Hope you make a lot of friends!”
“Yeah… right.” In all honesty, Midnight dreaded the thought. However, it was her duty to learn about friendship, so regardless of her personal feelings on the matter she had to put them aside and try to make some friends. “Alright gentlecolts, go on!”
The two stallions attached to the carriage gave a brisk nod and began pulling the carriage away from the castle. Midnight gave one last look at the castle and her two sisters.
“Be safe, Midnight Star!” Celestia brightly called out while Luna hid behind her flank, trying not to let anypony see her cry.
Midnight chuckled and gave a wave of her hoof back. “I will! Take care!”